Chapter Thirty-One: Waking Up Early

  "Master, who is Jinlian?" Xue'er asked while attending to Ximen Qing getting out of bed and dressing.

  "Jinlian?" Ximen Qing's mind was still not fully awake: "It's Pan Jinlian."

  "As Old Master spoke in his sleep, he called out the name 'Pan Jinlian' over three hundred times." Xue'er yawned, clearly not having slept well the night before.

  "Huh?!"

  "Did Pan Jinlian owe Master a lot of money?" Xue'er asked innocently.

  Ximen Qing was laughing and crying at the same time, on one hand he was caressing Snow's smooth body, on the other hand he roughly told her about Pan Jinlian's affair, of course, he wouldn't mention a word about his own transmigration, besides, even if he did, no one would believe him.

  "Old Master actually likes Pan Jinlian." Xue'er scratched the slight itch, giggling: "That's easy, just marry her back home."

  "This..." The elastic and flexible Sima Daifu was pinched lightly somewhere, and his hand involuntarily paused for a moment.

  Xue'er made a sound of discontent in her mouth, seemingly dissatisfied with Ximen Qing stopping. She twisted and shook her body, continuing to say: "Master's vigor is extraordinary, I'm having a bit of trouble keeping up, my waist was sore to death from that position yesterday, it would be better if some sisters came to help share the burden."

  "Pan Jinlian is now a married woman."

  "It doesn't matter, isn't there a Wang Po next door who is her godmother? I heard she's also a matchmaker. If the master has taken a liking to Pan Jinlian, I'm afraid Wang Po will be even more anxious than Pan Jinlian."

  I'm going to get it.

  Are women of this era all like this? However, it's not surprising. The concept of monogamy would have been laughed to death in the Song Dynasty. Ximen Qing now holds half a street in his hands and is worth tens of thousands of taels, in an era where having three wives and four concubines is common, those matchmakers are probably making a fortune.

  But then Ximen Qing's icy heart began to melt slowly as Snow spoke, feeling that something should happen between him and Pan Jinlian to conform to this era.

  Must I really keep Pan Jinlian out of the door and never see each other?

  Ximen Qing suddenly felt that he might have been too hasty, since his arrival had already changed this world, would there be a different future? After all, he had saved Wu Dalang from the brink of death once, rather than killing him like in the original story.

  Although some places have softened slowly, some places are still quite... hard.

  Especially when held gently by a small soft hand.

  "Xue'er you little demon, didn't you say you weren't in the mood?!" Ximen Qing laughed and scolded at the same time, while doubling his response: "Let's see if Master can't kill you!"

  "The old man pitied me and then...". Xue'er had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when Ximen Qing covered it up.

  Inside the golden account, a moment of spring light is infinite, who says it's short? Ximen Qing said that early-rising birds have food to eat.

  After comforting Xue'er, Xi Menqing's spirits lifted greatly. He quickly got dressed and today he had an appointment with Diviner Jiang Jing to go find the legendary "Three Bowls Beyond the Ridge". Xi Menqing was very confident that he could get Liu Zhanggui to come to his place to brew wine.

  Throwing a hundred yuan coin at him would probably kill him.

  Brother has never been short of money, what brother lacks is talent, for brother to make more money.

  This way, elder brother can spend money more lavishly, live a life of luxury and pleasure, and have nothing better to do than squander money with others.

  Wait, what's the difference between this and the old Ximen Qing?

  The difference is that Ximen Qing was just a local tyrant in Qinghe County before, but now he wants to become the number one local tyrant of the entire Song Dynasty!

  Ximen Qing, with a full load of conviction, called up the divine calculator Jiang Jing, target: the small hotel on the other side of Jingshan Ridge!

  Let's go!

  "You dare to try, I'll break your legs!" Wu Dalang jumped up and down at the door, gesturing with his hands, with a familiar flat hoe leaning beside him.

  "You're the best, don't be ungrateful!" Pan Jinlian also scolded: "The medicine from last time has been finished, go and get another dose to consolidate, it's good for you! Otherwise, when Uncle comes back, he'll think I've been treating you badly!"

  Pan Jinlian's "uncle" was naturally Wu Song, the tiger-fighting hero.

  How can there be such a big difference between two people born from the same mother?

  "Who knows if you're going to fetch medicine or meet your lover?" Wu Dalang was furious: "Ximen Qing is a stinker, his family's medicine is all stinky. I've figured it out - I'd rather eat mud and furnace ash than take Ximen's medicine!"

  Pan Jinlian glared at Wu Dalang, who was jumping around trying to block her way out, and said irritably: "Fine, you wait! The mud pit still needs to be dug in the backyard for you, but the furnace ash is readily available here!"

  Pan Jinlian finished speaking and threw the stove ash that she was going to throw away in front of Wu Dalang: "You can eat it yourself, I'm going to sit at Wang Po's shop."

  "You stinky old woman, are you going to feed your own husband stove ash?! Wu Dalang completely forgot the angry words he had just spoken: "Wang Po's Ma Bo Liu is a professional matchmaker, what do you want to go there for? Are you going to let that old woman find men for you? Find Ximen Qing?"

  Pan Jinlian seemed to have not heard these vicious words, turned around and walked towards the backyard, where there was a small door that led directly to Wang Po's teahouse, only there could she get some verbal comfort.

  Wu Dalang was alone, blocking the front door but unable to block the back door. He could only regretfully lift his leg and kick it, scattering stove ash all over the ground. Then he lifted his leg again and stomped his foot, going out onto the street to discuss with Yu'erge.

  The old woman's teahouse was usually empty, but after listening to Pan Jinlian's crying, she comforted her: "In a few days, it will be the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, and I'll go to the Jade Emperor Temple fair to set up a tea stall. If you're free, Sixth Lady, why don't you come with me to take your mind off things?"

  "Mother-in-law, my husband has been ill recently and even the pancake business has stopped. I'm so idle at home." Pan Jinlian replied without hesitation: "Otherwise, every day I would still get up early in the morning to make dough and steam pancakes, exhausting myself to death, and then drag that good-for-nothing out of bed to sell pancakes."

  "Good!" Wang Po smiled: "Does Sixth Lady know that Ximen Dafu divorced his legitimate wife and instead took a concubine, a maid?"

  "This matter has been spread far and wide, even Qinghe County knows about it." Pan Jinlian nodded in response: "Even the Wu family's house was searched, I didn't expect Young Master to be such a hero, actually subduing that old scoundrel Wu."

  "That old scoundrel had even come to my wife's place to rest his feet and drink tea." Wang Po thought back with a lingering fear: "Who could have imagined that this old scoundrel was actually the murderer from thirty years ago, with hundreds of lives on his hands..."

  Pan Jinlian's eyes were filled with admiration, and although Ximen Daoye didn't look like his uncle Wu Song, a robust man, he had still managed to accomplish such a great feat, ridding the people of harm. His reputation in the county was now almost surpassing that of Wu Song, and he was also the newly appointed County Magistrate; the letter "Blowing Snow at Seven Rests" was now in the hands of every household in Qinghe County, and they all admired Ximen Daoye's grandeur.

  However, Pan Jinlian also discovered from Ximen Qing's actions towards her that this Mr. Ximen had always shown a rejecting attitude towards her, and even once prohibited her from entering within the range of fifty steps.

  Why is this? Pan Jinlian thought anxiously, completely at a loss.

  "Sixth Lady." Wang Po interrupted Pan Jinlian's train of thought, and asked with a smile: "What are you thinking about? Won't be thinking about the Master, will you?"

  This time Pan Jinlian did not completely deny it, but instead nodded silently, a red glow had already flown onto her lovely face.

  "This is easy!" Wang Po made a gesture of rubbing his fists and palms: "After decades of being a matchmaker, I've got this little thing covered!"

  "Mother-in-law!" Pan Jinlian stamped her foot: "Uncle told us very clearly when he left, if Uncle comes back and finds out that our family has remarried, what will happen?"

  "Alas." Wang Po sighed and said, "To be honest, Liu Niang, you and Wu Er Lang were born to be a couple, but fate played tricks on people. Who would have thought he was the younger brother of Da Lang?"

  Mentioning this matter, Pan Jinlian's heart began to feel anxious again, remembering that snowy night when Wu Erlang coldly pushed away the wine cup she had handed over, making her own heart turn icy.

  In this life, she and Wu Dalang, the tiger-beating hero, have no fate. But now Ximen Dafu has made Pan Jinlian's icy heart beat hot again.

  Maybe when Wu Erlang finishes his business and comes back, I'll entrust Wu Dalang to him.

  Pan Jinlian's heart was still as tangled as a ball of twine.

  "Look, Master Dong, it's not far ahead, that's the Jingyang Ridge!" Jiang Jing, the divine calculator, raised his whip on horseback and pointed out the road to Ximen Qing.

  "The scenery still looks pretty good!" Ximen Qing looked at the nearby picturesque Jingyang Gang and nodded slightly: "If it were in his own time, I estimate that it would have been a resort village and farmhouse all over the place, with signs of Chai Chicken Eggs everywhere. It's only in this era that even such a small hill can be appreciated for its scenery."

  "Should Old Master and Mr. Jiang take a break?" Little Tianqing, who was following closely behind, had sharp eyes and saw that in front of them, on the trees at the foot of Jingyang Ridge, there was a small "wine" sign hanging from a branch, gently swaying in the wind.

  "Oh." Ximen Qing saw clearly from horseback that in front of him was a small house, seemingly entirely made of wood. If not for the sign floating above it, people with poor eyesight would almost miss it.

  "There's also a tavern here!" The Divine Mathematician nodded and said: "In such a remote place, even the certain family from Yanggu County didn't discover it last time. Xi Meng, why don't you and I go ahead and take a rest, have a few drinks?"

  Ximen Qing saw that the sign was a bit tattered, and he didn't think much of this wine shop. However, looking at the eyes of the divine calculator Jiang Jing, it seemed like there was no joy without wine, with a posture that seemed to be drinking all the way. It wasn't good to stop him, fortunately, this place wasn't Happy Forest, and along the way, there was only this hotel.

  Anyway, riding a horse for a long time is also tiring, Ximen Qing also wants to relieve it, right?

  Ximen Qing, Shen Suanzi and Xiaotianqing arrived at the hotel entrance on horseback, expecting to see the hotel owner warmly welcoming them. Because wealthy people rarely come to such a small shop in fine clothes and on horseback, usually everyone in the whole store will be shocked out.

  What disappointed them was that there wasn't even a shop assistant, let alone the hotel owner, only an open doorway with a toothless mouth welcoming the three of them.

  This place is really too unlucky! Is it a black-hearted store?!

  Thank you to the following readers for their rewards, in no particular order: Coffin's Xiuzi, Blood Clan Youyue, Eternal Yangshen Eternal, Dream Awakening Xianghun. Friendship is not mentioned here.